It seems like the only solution to the national debt I hear is cutting spending. There is another side to a balanced budget: income. At least 20 percent of U.S. residents could give up one latte to pay more taxes. The top 1 percent could drive the same car two years instead of one year, and the top 0.1 percent could own two houses instead of five. In the 1950s, the top income tax rate was 90 percent.
“Live within your means” is good advice. However, if a family member was sick and needed expensive care, would you go into debt to save them? Or maybe a family member needs more education, is very talented and almost certainly could increase their earning capacity. Do you go into debt for that? Most of us would.
But when it comes to spending for saving lives, the government’s answer is no: We have to cut Medicare and Medicare and make students take out crippling debt to pay for education. The government wants unlimited military spending: $2 trillion more for the Department of Defense. Under Trump the debt has increased by $3 trillion and the 2019 deficit by $1.1 trillion. This madness didn’t work for Roman Empire and it won’t work for us.
